Focusing solely on firefighting without a broader prevention strategy will make it difficult for EU countries to manage future wildfires, according to a Greek expert, where thousands of hectares of forest were recently destroyed in just a few days, reported Euractiv. Greece must shift its mindset to tackle future wildfires.
Greece, with a long history of wildfires, had a wake-up call in 2018 when a fire in the Attica region killed 100 people. Although the death toll hasn’t reached such levels since the ecological damage continues. In 2023, the largest wildfire in EU history occurred in northern Greece, burning 770 square kilometers, roughly the size of New York City.
Greek politicians often argue over fire management every summer, but policy progress remains slow, the European Commission noted in a 2024 report.
This summer, however, saw some changes in Greece’s wildfire response. Helicopters monitored high-risk areas, over 500,000 people cleared their land of potential fire fuels, and 25 drones were deployed in the Attica region. The government also bought seven new firefighting planes for €361 million, though they often can’t fly due to high winds and smoke.
Greece also introduced a €415 million fire prevention program, “AntiNero,” which focused on cleaning pine forests and improving forest roads to aid crisis response. Yet, despite these efforts, a wildfire last week devastated 20 kilometers and reached Athens’ suburbs, killing one person, destroying over 100 houses, and burning 10,000 hectares of forest.
Severe climate conditions exacerbated the situation, with record-breaking heat and strong north winds pushing the fire toward Athens. Reports from Copernicus and the European Forest Fire Information System indicate that the Attica region has lost 37% of its forest area in the past eight years.
Although Greece detected wildfires earlier this summer, controlling them once they started proved difficult. According to Ilias Tziritis, WWF Greece’s forest fire operations manager, the problem stems from a lack of a national forest fire management and prevention plan.
Tziritis emphasised the need for Europe, including Greece, to adopt a landscape management approach to combat future wildfires. He argued that a holistic, bottom-up strategy involving all stakeholders, from farmers to local communities, is essential. For instance, the decline in livestock and agriculture in certain areas increases fire risk, as grazing helps reduce vegetation that fuels fires.
Tziritis highlighted Spain’s programs, which use livestock farmers to manage vegetation by grazing in controlled areas, as a model Greece could follow. He also suggested that Greece explore Corsica’s approach, where controlled grazing fires are used to manage landscapes.
He urged redirecting fire management budgets toward prevention, as Portugal did in 2017 when it increased prevention funding to 40%. Tziritis noted that Greece has never had a comprehensive fire plan or an analysis of fire causes and drivers. Without action, he warned, many frequently burned areas in Greece could be abandoned, with irreversible damage to ecosystems, water, air quality, and tourism.
An EU spokesperson emphasized that supporting Greece in adapting to climate change and managing climate-related risks is a key priority for the 2021-2027 Cohesion Policy programs, with a budget of around €1.56 billion. Of this, €421 million is earmarked for wildfire preparedness, prevention, and response measures.
Additionally, Greece’s recovery and resilience plan (RRP) allocates over €800 million for wildfire prevention and response. However, it remains unclear how much of this funding has been utilised for projects.
